Artist statement
I live in an area of great natural beauty. The landscape of Southwest Wisconsin, an unglaciated terrain which includes rolling hills, farmland and the Mississippi River, and its bluffs inspired a series of oil paintings about the coulee region. These paintings include views in all seasons with their changing light and atmospheric perspective. My goal is to capture the life force and mood that is the experience of a place. Many of these paintings are based on locations that are the views I see as I walk on the 80 acres of land that surround my Wisconsin home. It is full of family history as we are the third generation of family to reside here. This land speaks of the past with its old barns, sheds, farmhouses, ridges and river views. I hope to express something of this connection in my paintings of the land.

Painting on location is ideal because it allows for the best possible conditions to capture the essence of a scene. I want to keep a fresh response of a place, so I begin with smaller studies in Plein aire. I use these studies to create a larger piece. I engage the language of emotive color, light, curvilinear lines and thicker paint to interpret the expressive vision of the land and tell the truth of a place.

Biography
Joan Alexandra Gundersen has had paintings and mono-prints included in seven student shows. Other resume highlights include: